Improvement in expansible tom pions for fire-arms



NTTED GEORGE E. \VILLMOT, OF MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT.

IMPROVEMENT iN EXPANSIBLE TOMPIONS FOR FIRE-ARMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 40,720, dated November24, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEO GE R. WrLLMoT, of Meriden, in the county of NewHaven and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Expanding Tompions for Ordnance and Small-Arms; andI dohereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being hadto the accompanyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a cental section, showing the application of my improvedtompion within the muzzle of a rifled cannon. Fig. 2 is atransversesection of the same. Fig. 3 is a side view of atompion forsmall-arms. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to the expanding packing of the tompion. Thispacking has been heretofore made of vulcanized india-rubher or othergum, and the free sulphur which remains in the gum after vulcanizationhas produced the corrosion of the interior of the muzzle of the piece towhich it has. been applied.

The object of my improvement is to prevent this effect; and it consistsin the application to the vulcanized gun-packing of a covering ofchamois or other leather, cloth, felt, velvet, plush, or other suitablematerial which is neither sticky nor contains any of the elements bywhich the corrosion of metal can be produced, and in the interpositionbetween the vulcanized gum and the said covering of vulcanizedindia-rubber or other material possessing a similar quality of beingimpervious to sulphur.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the head of the tompion, made with a flange, a, broad enough tocover a portion of the face of the muzzle M of the piece; and B is thecompressing-plate, having its largest part of smaller diameter than thebore of the piece.

- C is the screw for expanding the tompion, passing freely through ahole in the center of the head and screwing into a tapped hole in thecenter of the plate B, and having at its outer end a knob, b, to serveas a handle by which to turn it, for the purpose of drawing thecompressing-plate toward the head and so compressing the packing D in adirection parallel with the axis of the tompion, and thereby expandingit in circumferentially for the purpose of making it fit tightly withinthe muzzle of the piece. The packing-ring D is fitted into a suitablegroove or recess formed between the head and compressing-plate, and,with the exception of the covering of the said ring, the construction ofthe tompion is essentially the same as that of other expandingtompions.In tompions of small size I incase the screw C in a metal tube, k, Fig.4, fitting loosely over the screw, and adapted to sustain the inwardpressure of the packing when compressed and prevent contact and frictionbetween it and the screw. The latter-will thus be enabled to workperfectly free. The packing Dis composed, principally, of a ring, d, ofvulcanized india-rubber or other elastic gum fitting the recess 6 f 9,formed between the head A and compressing-plate B of the tompion, andhas its exterior periphery first coatedwith unvulcanized india-rubber orother flexible gum or material, h, which is impervious to the sulphurofthe vulcanized gum, and afterward covered with soft leather, cloth,felt, velvet, plush, or other material, t, which is not sticky likeunvulcanized gum and does not contain any of the elements by whichcorrosion of metal is produced. The coating h may be composed of athinband of pure indiarubber or other gum wrapped round the ring (I, andcemented to the said ring by a cement composed of a solutionof such gum,or may be produced by dipping the ring done or more times into asolution of india-rubber or other flexible gum, and the outer covering,z, may be secured by means of the cement or solution above mentioned.The packing thus produced and prepared should in its normal condition beof such circumference that it will pass only into the muzzle of thepiece, but that after the insertion of the tompion into the muzzle itmay, by turning the screw C to compress it in a direction parallel withthe axis of the tornpion, be expanded circumferentially to fit tightlyinto the muzzle of the piece, and also to fill up the grooves j j asshown in Fig. 2, when the piece is rifled.

I do not claim the application to a tompion of an expanding packing setout by means of a screw; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to 2. The use, in an expansibletonipion, of the secure by Letters Patent, is I casing or tube k, in thedescribed combination 1. The employment, in a tompion, in comwith thescrew 0, elastic ring d, and plates A bination with an expanding packingof vuland B, for the purpose-specified. canized gum, of an outercovering of leather,

cloth, felt, velvet, plush, or other soft unad- GEORGE R. XVILLMOT.hesivematerial, which contains no elements that can corrode metal, andan interposed fleXi- Witnesses:

Gno. W. REED.

which is impervious to the sulphur of the vulble 1naterialsuch asunvulcanized gum J. \V. OOOMBS, canized gum, substantially as hereindescribed. I

